Violent offenders to be ‘locked’ in restriction zones in England and Wales under new rules
The government has announced the introduction of new restriction zones, which will curb the freedoms of the most serious sexual and violent offenders by ‘locking’ them into specific areas where necessary.
Offenders will be confined to specific areas with rigorous monitoring supported by proven technology – with the possibility of imprisonment for those who breach the restrictions.
This will provide an additional tool to protect victims from the most serious offenders. Whilst existing “exclusion zones” are a valuable tool to stop offenders from entering a location where their victim lives, new “restriction zones” go further and instead limit the movement of offenders, who are confined to an agreed area, allowing victims to travel anywhere else without fear of meeting their offender.
Probation Officers will conduct a detailed risk assessment and work hand-in-hand with victims on the creation of restriction zones, making sure zones prevent contact while giving survivors the maximum freedom to rebuild their lives.
Wider reforms throughout the probation system will also see tens of thousands more offenders tagged – backed by a huge boost in funding of up to £700 million by 2028/29.
In addition, at least 1,300 new trainee probation officers will be brought in next year to increase capacity, and new technology will lighten the administrative burden and free up time for workers to effectively supervise the most dangerous offenders and keep the public safe.
To further protect victims and ensure they see justice done, there will be further changes to:
- Increase tagging for domestic perpetrators – enabling the closer monitoring of cowardly abusers to reassure victims and remove the onus from them to prove breaches have occurred.
- Identify perpetrators of domestic abuse at sentencing – requiring judges to flag domestic abuse at sentencing so prisons, probation and police can better identify and manage abusers.
- Expand Specialist Domestic Abuse Courts – bolstering support for victims and ensuring their abusers are properly supervised and rehabilitated.
- Bolster transparency for victims at sentencing – including the provision of free copies of judges’ sentencing remarks for victims of rape and other sexual offences, and ensuring they receive the information and support they need to navigate the criminal justice system.
“For far too long, victims have had to reshape their lives to avoid their offenders. Exclusion zones have made victims feel trapped as though they are the ones serving a sentence, with the victim carrying the weight of someone else’s crime,” said the Joanna Simpson Foundation in response to the new rules.
“This announcement from the Ministry of Justice is the much-needed change that has long been called for and is a powerful step forward. By placing restrictions on offenders instead, this will now give survivors the freedom they deserve to live, move and heal without fear.
“It will also be more cost-effective for those monitoring the perpetrators as they will be locked in specific areas rather than having to monitor the exclusion zones where the victims live,” the group said.
